A Strategic Guide to Paid Search Lead Generation

A Strategic Guide to Lead Generation using Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing with Google Adwords

www.nusparkmarketing.com, @nusparkmktg Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Introduction

. What This eBook Is:

 A review of key elements of PPC campaign structure and strategies for optimization, including landing pages and conversion tactics

 How PPC campaigns contribute to qualified leads via the buying funnel

. What This eBook Is Not:

 A beginner’s “how-to” book.

 An ecommerce guide to PPC (focus is lead generation)

 A primer on the Display network. This ebook covers search engine marketing with Adwords only

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

About NuSpark Marketing

. Founded in 2010; Team members average 25 years of experience

. Philadelphia based; virtual team of experts

. Provides the process, consultation, strategy, tactics for firms that need better lead generation, lead nurturing, and funnel optimization.

. Founder Paul Mosenson is a long-term Media Director and has been managing digital campaigns for 15 years successfully

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Our Approach: The Three Pillars of Search Marketing

ON WITH THE SHOW

B2B Buyers Use Google to Research Solutions

Enquiro B2B research

. Are You There?

. In Front of Your Prospects?

. When They Research a Business Need?

. To Offer Them a Solution?

Let’s Get Started!

How Search Engines Work

. Your site will be indexed if you have:

 Links, internal and external

 Content, readable keyword-laden messages

 Architecture, properly build website

Google/Tech Target Research on B2B buyers search engine activity

PPC is a vital way to attract clicks and generate leads

SEO vs. PPC

. SEO . PPC

 More Time and Effort  Immediate Traffic

 Long Lasting  Promotional Copy

 Can be Less  An Advertising Expensive over Long Expense Haul  Generates Leads via  Organic Results More Microsites/Landing Trustworthy Pages

Lead Generation Approach

. SEO . PPC  Prospects will be  Prospects will engage attracted by your offer with your website, read for free content or your story, and need to information, and be convinced of your engage with that solutions before giving content by offering their you their email address email address in or calling you for exchange. contact.  Destination:  Destination: Website Microsite/Landing Page

For long-term growth; both strategies are crucial

PPC is a Valid Option when the Following Occurs

. When you need results quickly

. When you’re in a heavy competitive environment

. When your website is not optimized for search engines (Need SEO)

. When you want to test keywords, messages, and calls-to- action

. When you wish to complement SEO efforts by increasing visibility if your site is not optimized for certain keywords

. When you need to grow sales, revenue, and market share

THE SEARCH PROCESS

Internet Research Complements the Buying Funnel

Search strategy needs to encompass each phase of the funnel

“I have a business problem; let’s find an answer” . How buyers search

 Type the question • Are there ways to improve…  Type the answer • Software firms that…  Type the symptom • Ways to increase ROI  Type the product • Business analysis software  Type the brand • XXXX software

The Buying Funnel: First Step- Issues and Pain

. Sample Query Action Words

 Optimize

 Troubleshoot

 Improve

 Upgrade

 Resolve

 Fix

 Need

Example

. Free Report

Lead Captured!

The Buying Funnel: Second Step- Solutions

. Sample Query Action Words

 Services

 Firms

 Companies

 Software

 Tools

 Vendors

 Platforms

Example

Free Trial Lead Captured!

The Buying Funnel: Third Step- Comparisons

. Sample Query Action Words

 Versus

 Reviews

 Comparisons

 Case Studies

 Experiences

 Pros and Cons

**Social Media Big Here

Example

Another PPC ad from SAS Testing Content! Lead Captured!

The Buying Funnel: Final Step- Brand Search

Well, even IBM not perfect- right organic page- wrong PPC ad. (More on this later regarding negative keywords!)

Example

IBM’s Landing Page a little busy and confusing, but found a white paper for lead capture!

Once the Prospects Enter your Funnel.. Convert, Qualify, Nurture, and Close!

BUDGET AND ROI

Set Goals: What Are Your Expected Outcomes

. Generate increased traffic into the top of the funnel

. Convert more prospects into leads; quality leads

. Increase market share; divert leads from competitors

. Improve our current PPC return-on-investment

. Optimize our inbound marketing efforts; complement SEO and social media marketing

A Summary of Metrics for Lead Generation PPC

. The Priority KPIs

 Return on Investment (ROI). The ultimate goal; is the campaign giving you positive return. This is where using dashboards like marketing automation and Salesforce apps come in handy to match revenue from complex sales with PPC metrics.

 Conversion Rate. The number of conversions divided by the number of clicks. The metric acts as a barometer of relevancy; content/offer-landing page-call-to- action, ad relevancy, and keyword relevancy are all integral to optimizing this metric.

 Cost-Per-Conversion (or Lead) and Cost-Per Acquisition (Sale) The PPC ad cost divided by the number of lead conversions or sales. In the middle is CPO, or cost-per-opportunity. The Cost-per-Conversion metric is a measure of efficiency, and is driven by strategic bidding and quality score management, as well as proper conversion architecture. CPA and CPO are driven by nurturing and the sales conversion process throughout the funnel.

Projected ROI: Lead Generation Sites

. Not as easy to measure; complex sales take a while between form submission or sign-up conversion and sales resolution

. Options:

 Track “conversion rate” and “cost-per-conversion” for every day optimization from the Adwords interface,

 Use Google’s integration with Salesforce or marketing automation platforms that include search marketing modules to measure click-to- opportunity-to-sale activity via integration with CRMs.

 Create custom dashboards (similar to the basic ones shown in this ebook) to manage pipeline activity from click to sales

Salesforce for Adwords

. Salesforce for Google AdWords makes it possible for companies to manage and measure search engine marketing campaigns directly from within Salesforce.

The lead source from Google Adwords on Salesforce

View the Details (Keyword, Ad, URL) of the Lead

Follow the Lead’s Funnel Activity to Close

Analyze and Measure Pipeline Results

An Example of an Interface from a Marketing Automation Platform that Tracks ROI from AdWords

Follow the Funnel with PPC; An Example Based on Existing Pipeline Conversion Rates . Spend $5,000 on PPC, CPC is $2.00, 2,500 clicks gathered

. 25% conversion rate from landing page; 625 content downloads

. Lead nurturing occurs, sales calls occur, qualification process occurs, eventually 5% of the leads who downloaded the initial content become sales opportunities, or 32

. 10% opportunity-to-close conversion, or 3 sales

. Average net profit per sale is $5,000, or $15,000

. ROI: 200%

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Next Example: Now Work Backwards and Determine Budget . Conversion Rate and Metric Scenarios

 Sale to Opportunity closing rate: 20%

 Opportunity to Sales Accepted Lead: 50%

 Sales Accepted Lead to Marketing Qualified Lead: 50%

 Marketing Qualified Lead to Inquiries: 20%

 Inquiries to Clicks: 5%

 Average Sale Value: $10,000

 Estimated Cost-Per-Click: $2.00

 Estimated Click-Through Rate: 2%

 So if I Want 5 sales from PPC, What Can I Expect from PPC?

Let’s Calculate Based on Scenarios on Previous Slide

. 5 Sales

. 25 Opportunities

. 50 SALs

. 100 MQLs

. 500 Inquiries (downloads, trials, registrations)

. 10,000 Clicks

. 500,000 Impressions

. $20,000 Spend

______

. $50,000 in Sales

. 150% ROI

Other Costs to Consider

. The costs to nurture leads into sales via the funnel should ideally be included. The problem is, these costs are spread across all lead generation activities, like social media, SEO, advertising, email, trade shows, etc, as they all go through the nurturing process.

. The cost of sales people to follow-up and engage with prospects from PPC is another factor for true ROI calculations

Another Scenario: Looks What Happens to ROI When We… Decrease the CPC (Cost- Per-Click)

Then Increase the CTR (Click- Through Rate)

Then Increase the Conversion Rate

NEAT!

If You’re Not a Complex Sale….

Can still track campaign ROI by product, as long as you know average sale conversion rate, average value per sale, and margin.

At the End of the Day

. Getting You Profitable Clicks is the Goal; clicks that turn into quality leads then turn into viable sales opportunities. By understanding and tweaking the variables in this ebook, your sales, and return on investment will increase. Profit is the bottom-line.

Now Let’s OPTIMIZE GOOGLE ADWORDS

Contents

. Settings Strategy

. Quality Score Strategy

. Keyword Strategy

. Bidding Strategy

. Ad Text Strategy

. Landing Page and Conversion Strategy

. Measurement Strategy

. A Hodgepodge of Optimization Tactics

SETTINGS STRATEGY

Location Targeting

Study your sales regions. Any underperforming or over performing? Consider a separate campaign for a target sales region that needs emphasis. Strategically give each region a unique budget based on sales goals and expected revenue.

Start with a benchmark percent of revenue for budgeting, and adjust accordingly based on sales region activity

Sample Settings: Advanced Location Targeting . Geographic target: New York City

. Excluded geography: New Jersey

• Do you mind reaching audiences in another state that use the term “New York” in their query? If so, do nothing, if not, just target Physical Location Physical Location: Target those in your • If you only want your ads to show if the search defined geography query includes a location in your geography, target using search intent Search Intent: Target those • If you don’t want your ads to show at all in your ANYWHERE who combine search excluded geography, do nothing (default) query with a location term within your • If you don’t want your ads to show in your defined geography excluded geography, or if a user searches for a location term in your geography, choose exclude search intent

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Ad Scheduling

Another reason to have unique campaigns by sales region is to optimize time zones, especially targeting 8a-6p M-F. Google doesn’t recognize time zones, so running ads starting at 8a ET means the ads run 5a PT.

Additionally, if the work day is of most importance, Google allows you to increase bids by time period, or by day of week. Be careful to reduce bid percentages as well during non-key days/times so that the total budget balances out.

Ad Delivery

For lead generation activity, two strategies are recommended:

a. Optimize for conversions: Better performing ads will appear more frequently b. Rotate ads evenly; Ideal for ad copy testing, then after analysis, do option a.

Device Targeting . Tablets and Smartphones continue to grow in penetration. If for any reason your research says your audience doesn’t use these devices, or your landing pages aren’t optimized for mobile, tablets, or certain operating systems, then you may deselect these options.

Bidding Options

. If Adwords automatically sets bids, there is no manual bidding for your keywords. Use automatic budget optimizing for a campaign where specific bidding is not crucial to your ROI and you just prefer exposure.

. Enhanced CPC. If you’re tracking conversions, Google will automatically adjust bids to optimize conversion rate. Bid can increase up to 30%

. Conversion Optimizer. If you have enough conversion history, Google will optimize CPC based on cost- per-action bids. There’s no ceiling on bid increases, because reaching your target CPA is the goal.

More on Conversion Optimizer (Cost Per Action) . Adwords recommends a maximum CPA bid, but you can customize it as well

. Target CPA is the average you want to pay for a conversion, rather than a max.

. Suggestions

 Test CPA bidding in a separate campaign; split your budget, and analyze results comparing CPA vs CPC tactics with regard to conversions

 Test within ad groups, and adjust accordingly. Keep the test simple; don’t make other campaign changes.

 Best used for high traffic/high conversion advertisers.

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Enhanced CPC vs. Conversion Optimizer

. Enhanced CPC . Conversion Optimizer

 Google automatically  CPA bidding increases/decreases CPC based on chances of conversion  Google adjusts CPC based on historical data; CPC bids adjusted  Google looks at history, automatically to reach CPA goals geography, browser settings, time of day, to predict bid  So CPC bids are adjusted automatically  Bids never exceed 30%  Predicted conversion calculated  You still manage max CPC bids first, then ad rank determined by combining CPA bid, quality score,  Objective: receive more and the predicted conversion rate conversions and reduce cost-per- conversion  Objective: Improve conversions and increase ROI

Recommend testing each and evaluate results

Ad Extensions

. These are extra clickable options that can coincide with your text ads

. They usually appear with ads in top 1/2 positions of search results with good quality scores

Sitelink Strategy

. Sitelinks scans your website and gives you options to add as a site link.

. You can also create new extensions if the links are on microsites or not shown

. A click on a link will still charge your account

. As shown in example, link to pages that offer lead gen opportunity or validation links like case studies or testimonials

Call Link Strategy

. Show a business number on ads that appear on mobile phones; click-to- call feature

. Put a Google 800 number in your ad, that forwards to a business number. Ideal if your call-to-action is a phone number. Text ad should reflect action- “call for directions” or “call sales now” Google calls this Call Metrics and can be analyzed along with click data. This ad has call metrics and site links!

Social Extensions with Google+ Page

. If you have a Google+ business page, you can link it to Adwords.

. All the +1s you get from websites, ads, and search results will now be tallied and shown within the text ads

. When users +1 your digital properties and listings, your click rates will likely increase

QUALITY SCORE STRATEGY

What Is Quality Score

. Quality Score is a dynamic variable assigned to each keyword. By analyzing a variety of factors, the score measures how relevant your keyword is to your ad group, ad text and to a user’s query.

. Google’s mission is to ensure user experience, and that means targeting ads that closely responds to the user’s query, offering high click through rates, and clicking to high quality landing pages that support the ad and query.

. Quality Score is ranked 1-10. Ranks over 7 are considered excellent. Scores under 4 are considered poor.

Quality Score Factors

. Historical CTR of keyword

. Historical account performance

. Keyword relevance to ad text

. Keyword and ad relevance to the search query

. Relevance of ad text

. Landing page quality

Why Pay Attention to Quality Score

. The ad rank formula: CPC bid x Quality Score

 Low quality score will preclude ads from appearing in a keyword auction

 The lower the quality score, the higher your CPC bid will need to be to achieve a good ad rank

 The higher the quality score, the lower your CPC bid will be to reach an advantageous ad rank

What This Means

. If your goal is to be in the top 3 ad positions, and your quality score is low, your bid will need to be high to achieve the desired ad rank. Your CTR will be high because of ad position, but the CPC will also be high, and thus you’ll receive less overall clicks for your budget

. If your quality score is high, your bid won’t need to be as high to achieve top 3 ad positions. CTR will be high, and because of lower CPC, you’ll receive more clicks for your budget

Improved Quality Score Impact on ROI

. Scenario

 CTR increases because ads are more relevant and ad rank is better

 CPC is lower because we performed tactics to increase quality score

 Now look at the ROI increase

Strategies to Improve Quality Score

. Keyword . Ads

 Increase impressions to build history,  Ensure keywords are referenced in ad so that quality score becomes more headlines and ad text accurate  Consider DKI- Dynamic keyword  Boost CTR- add negative keywords, insertion, which puts user queries update match options to phrase and within ad headlines or within ads. Need exact, match keywords to specific ads, to be careful overdoing this. make phrases two words or less to over 3 (long-tail), pause irrelevant terms . Landing Pages

. Ad Groups  Good content with keywords that solve user’s query needs  Restructure so ad groups are tightly  Look/feel and usability that increase themed user experience  Ensure ad groups, ads, and keywords  No pop-ups; optimize loading speed are very aligned and relevant to a user’s query

KEYWORD STRATEGY

Set the Stage

. Think about keywords within the buying funnel (shown earlier)

. Don’t start with what you do; start with what your prospects need

. Consider competitive research; gather intelligence

Buying Funnel

. Advertising, Display, Social Media, Internal Needs Create Demand

. Search terms, as presented earlier, should target audiences throughout their purchase lifecycle

. The consideration or shopping phase is the most critical to present your case as a solution provider

Think Like Your Customers

. Review your buyer personas

. What are their needs and pain points?

. What are their solution options?

. What content do they need to make decisions?

The Long-Tail vs. The Short Query

Long-Tail Short Query  3 more terms in your  One or two-word phrases keyword phrase  High traffic; but less  Less Competitive relevant; quality score effect (low CTR)  Specific terms easier to match with relevant ads  Need ample supply of and ad groups negative keywords

 Less Traffic  Harder to write ads

Unless competitive issues call for it, long-tail keywords are always favored for PPC campaign success

Those Match Types

. Broad Match . Phrase Match

 Build awareness and  More exact matches generate immediate clicks  Can still learn keyword  Learn what people are variations searching for, then optimize later . Exact Match  Expect high impressions, low CTR, and high bid prices  Your keyword matches query exactly with no other words  Broad includes synonyms in query and tense variations  Less traffic; but most  Bid less as a start vs. other targeted; expect higher CTR match types

Modified Broad Match Examples What It Is . Keyword: +accounting software

Ad will show for user query:

Need accounting software programs

. Stops Google from Accounting tools for dental offices changing broad match Ad won’t show for user query: keywords to synonyms or Financial software reviews related terms . Keyword: accounting software Ad will show for user query: . Add a “+” to the broad Financial software programs Accounting programs for dental offices match term to keep that . Keyword: +accounting +software word in the query Ad will show for user query:

Need accounting software programs

Ad won’t show for user query:

Financial programs for dental offices

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Long-Tail Research Tools

We use tools such as these to populate our long-tail keywords, and output the list in any order, as well as match options.

Note the words in column 3 that cover the buying funnel stages as well as user intent

Just a Reminder . Your ad groups must be aligned with the keyword groups by category. For the example we just did, these would be ad groups:

 Financial software solutions/tools

 Financial software firms/companies

 Accounting software solutions/firms

 Accounting software discount/cheap

Alert: Many consultants have their own methods of ad group structure; just remember; the more relevant, the better quality score and CTR, and thus more efficient conversions

Negative Keywords: Include in your Campaigns or Ad Groups What It Is Examples . Negative keywords stop ads . Keyword query: Certified from showing when certain Salesforce Consultants keywords are in user queries . Negative keywords in account: . Eliminates unwanted traffic, software, jobs, careers, trainers, which in turn increases Sugar, Microsoft, platforms, relevancy, CTR, and quality cheap, discount, comparisons score  Ads won’t show if the . Conversion rates will increase above terms are in user as well, and cost per conversion query will decrease

Example of a Negative Keyword Needed

Widener University may have a fine accounting program, but they need the term software as a negative…thus their campaign not optimized

Keyword Problems?

. Hover over the “bubble” in the status column on your keyword tab to check, then use the Google keyword diagnostic tool to run more tests.

Research Competitor Keywords with Paid Tools

Of Course, Google’s Own Keyword Tool for Keyword Research and Competitive Activity

TEXT AD STRATEGY

General Principles for Lead Generation PPC ads . Headline: Attract attention and relevant to query

. Description Lines: Differentiating feature, key benefit, call-to-action offer

. Display URL: Identify your company

. Destination URL: Actual landing page, tagged for analytics tracking

. Continue to test multiple ads and tweak accordingly for optimal CTR, Conversion Rate, and Cost-Per-Conversion

First Step

. Make Lists on Your Solutions

 Search for Competitors; What are they saying? What content or offer are they promoting? Make a list

 What are your key selling points? Why would prospects buy from you? What makes you unique? Make a list

 Review content assets. What are prospects interested in? (Buyer persona research!). What can you give away for free in return for an email address? Make a list

Match Ads to Ad Groups within the Funnel

Issues Solutions Comparison Brand/Product

Ad Ad Ad Ad Groups Groups Groups Groups

Ads Ads Ads Ads

Ads in Action: “Accounting Software”

Issues Solutions Comparison Brand/Product

Accounting Accounting Accounting Paul’s Software Software Software Software Headline

Understand 24/7 Support; Accounting Fast & Easy st New Tax Painless Set- Software- fit 1 Line to Deploy Rules up every need

Free White Money Back Learn More; Affordable nd Paper; Get Guarantee; Free 2 line Too; Free Trial Now View Demo Consultation

Destination URLs

. So we can Track

 Ad Groups

 Campaigns Make Sure Auto-Tagging is Checked Under My Account-  Keywords Preferences so…  Ads

. In Google Analytics

Google’s URL Builder

. Use the URL builder to track other search engines, digital media, or social media visits with Google Analytics.

. Just follow instructions and copy/paste URL to destination link in ad.

Ad Preview with The Preview Tool

See what your ad looks like anywhere you want, and on a device of choice,

or diagnose any problems

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

BIDDING STRATEGY

Bidding Considerations for Lead Generation

. Bids can be adjusted on a keyword level or ad group level; both can work. Bidding on keywords takes more time but can be more profitable in the long run.

. Two of your key metrics are conversion rates and cost-per-conversion. Bidding management should be to optimize those metrics. Utilize the Google Conversion Optimizer to maximize conversions (explained earlier)

. Quality Score optimization. As presented previously, the higher your score, the more effective your campaign will be. For optimal ad rank, you’ll be able to bid lower when a keyword has a high score

. Consider match options with bids. Broad matches are more competitive and will cost more; plus quality score will be adversely affected. Watch closely this scenario

. Competition and ad rank. How important is it to be in the top 3? Granted those positions get the highest CTR and help quality score, but will those efforts be profitable vs. side and bottom of page ad positions? Best to test tactics and bid accordingly.

. Test the multitude of bidding options as described earlier in Settings and in upcoming slides.

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

Determining Maximum Bid

. Maximum CPC is the highest you’re willing to pay for a click; your actual CPCs will be lower most of the time. Ad position is based on the combination of maximum bid and quality score. Two recommendations to determine the initial bid:

. 1. Start small; perhaps even $1.00, then start adjusting up and down on an ongoing basis. Consider competition, CTR, conversion rates.

. 2. Utilize a business formula (see next slide)

Maximum CPC Formula: Lead Generation

. Determine spend for each conversion; use desired profit margin to start. Example: $2,000 per conversion

. Estimate monthly ad impressions based on history or keywords: Example: 50,000 impressions

. Estimate click through rate based on history: Example: 2% CTR

. Use pipeline conversion metrics in order to determine a sale-to click conversion rate. Follow below with examples:

 Visitor to inquiry: 10%

 Inquiry to MQL: 20%

 MQL to SAL: 75%

 SAL to SQL: 50%

 SQL to Close: 20%

. Multiply 50,000 by 2% (1,000), then the product by the pipeline conversions (.10 * .20 * .75 * .50 * .20). Result: 2 sales

. Divide sales (2) by clicks (1,000). .2% is the actual sales to click conversion rate.

. Multiply cost per conversion goal ($2,000) by conversion rate (.2%), $4.00 is you maximum cost per click bid.

If you’re not getting enough volume because your Max CPC is low, increase your Max CPC or work on quality score improvement. Keep an eye on conversion rates and adjust accordingly.

How Bidding, Ad Rank, and Quality Score Work Together

Ad Rank Formula: Quality Score x Max CPC Actual CPC Formula: Ad Rank of advertiser below you * quality score + $.01

On the top we have the ad positioning of 4 advertisers.

Then, Advertiser 3 increased the Max bid to improve ad ranking

Advertiser 4 improved quality score

Compare the ad In both scenarios, there are advertisers bidding and positioning now, and paying less for higher positions, because of the the actual CPC quality score. Bottom-line, you just have to balance bids and quality score in an effort to optimize your conversion rates and cost-per-conversions.

Bidding Tools from Google

. Google comes with a number of tools to help with the bidding process, besides the ones mentioned earlier.

Traffic Estimator

By entering search terms, Your Max CPC bid, and a daily budget, we get a sense of monthly impressions, clicks, and an estimated CPC and ad position, plus costs and competitive level. For the above, you may wish to increase the Max CPC for “accounting software” to increase ad position. This is just a guide and always subject to change.

Bid Simulator; Simulate Bidding Scenarios

View Ad Group simulations when adjusting Max CPC. Compare total impressions vs. Top (position 1-3) impressions. Apply bid to all keywords or the default bid

Test Bid Simulator at the keyword level and affects of bid increases or decreases

Caution: These numbers are NOT absolute and change daily depending on quality score, competition, and other factors. It’s best to use this for ecommerce sites. Search for bid simulator on Google and you’ll see a bunch of reviews, good and bad, on this tool. An increased bit doesn’t necessarily mean increased profit or decrease cost-per- lead/cost-per sale because of all of the factors involved.

First Page and Top of Page Bid Estimates

. These estimates for 1st page bid and top page bid (Above organic results) are based on quality score and level of competition, and thus can dynamically change. These columns can be selected on the keyword tab

Other Bidding Tips

. Adjust bids on the Ad Scheduling section of Settings; adjust bids by day of week or time of day if, for example, you want to increase bids by a percentage during 9a-5p work day.

. If you focus on clicks; use manual or automatic CPC bidding. If you focus on conversions, use enhanced CPC or the conversion optimizer.

. Don’t bid for #1 position; lower positions can be more affordable and may be more profitable. Test.

Let’s convert LANDING PAGES & CONVERSIONS

Principles of Landing Page Conversion Optimization: Single Page or Microsite Destination (Preferred)

. Content of landing page must align with the PPC message and searcher intent

. Message must focus on the value of the content or demo you are offering

. Professional Look and Feel; Establishes Credibility

. Bullet-point, easy-to-read copy that explains the benefits of doing business with you

. Third-party testimonials build trust in your solutions

. Unique Landing Pages for each PPC campaign

Principles of Website Conversion Optimization: If You Choose to Capture Leads with Main Website

. Follow landing page optimization from previous side regarding your destination page

. Build rapport with your prospect; use language in their terms

. Engage audiences with your story; prove your solutions solve their business needs

. Compelling headlines- relevant keywords- and help Google with keyword-laden title tags

. Guide prospects to your call-to-action easily, and on every page when possible; the decision to contact your firm can occur at any moment during a site visit.

Landing Page Previews

Because you can preview landing pages before clicking now, it’s upmost to have readable, compelling content to attract audiences who choose to preview before making a decision to click.

Call-to-Action . A properly executed CTA tells prospects what step they need to take to become a conversion. Some best practices:

 Match offers to audience needs throughout the funnel. Early stage actions lean towards white papers; later stage actions may be free consultations or trials.

 Don’t have prospects dig for your CTAs. It’s fine to include a CTA on most pages to reach those prospects whenever they’re ready for a conversion action. And keep CTAs above the fold.

 Make CTAs stand out; bold graphics and colors, and compelling action message that aligns with the offer. Don’t confuse prospects.

Web Forms for Lead Generation

Proper Web Form Architecture

. Simple fields; keep the number of fields short. Limit required fields to the bare essentials

. Gather minimal intelligence for initial lead qualification (job title, industry, purchase influence). (Can always gather more during nurturing process)

. Forms that are completely filled out represent buyers closer to their buying decision and should be scored as such

Interesting research from the 2010 Google/Tech Target B2B CIO report

Using Radio Buttons make it easy for prospects to select choices

. The key page that confirms a The Thank You Page conversion; track page via Google Analytics as well as Google conversion code

. Establishes a relationship; remind audiences of the value they are receiving

. Opportunity for additional conversion activity (subscribe to content; download more content, register for a video)

. Offer surveys and gather additional intelligence

. Promote social media links

Google’s Website Optimizer

Utilize the optimizer to test landing pages and optimize conversions Have meetings with IT or webmasters to help with the test set-up

URL: http://www.google.com/support/websiteoptimizer

Other Tools we Use for Optimization

Track Conversions; Option 1, via Adwords

. Create a conversion code to embed on your thank you page

. Give it a Category (purchase, sign-up, lead, page view), and optionally, a value (if you have multiple conversion opportunities)

. Generate a Code; install.

. A View-Through tracks banner/display Advanced Conversion Tracking ad views prior to PPC conversions, and thus gives some credit to the effect of display has on search conversions.

. Enabling de-duplication allows only click conversions to be counted. Disabling mean conversions are counted twice- as click conversions and view-through conversions. And you can customize the amount of time between the ad view and the conversion. 30 days is default. From Google:

Reasons to enable setting

Most of your online advertising activity is conducted through AdWords and you rely on AdWords Conversion Tracking to monitor CPA performance

Reasons to disable setting

You're trying to compare campaign information with other non- Google content campaigns that might not include search click activity and you want information about placements that are positively correlated with search ad clicks (for example, users see your display ad and then click on a search ad or you're already using another kind of tracking system (e.g. an ad server)

Conversion Types Google offers two types of conversion metrics

. 1-per-Click . Many-per-click

 If a person performs a  If you have multiple conversion, he is only conversion tactics, a person tracked as a conversion once can be tracked as within 30 days after a click conversions multiple times

 Example: I download a white  Example- I download white paper and subscribe to a papers, sign up for blog, I am counted as 1 newsletters, purchase an conversion. item, all within 30 days, I am counted as 3 conversions

Conversion (1-per-click) tracks unique people performing a conversion. Many-per-click enables you to track all of the conversion activity even if people are counted more than once

Track Conversions, Option 2, Integrate with GA

1. Allow Data Sharing (from Analytics settings)

2. Set-up Conversion Goals from Analytics

3. Import from GA from the Adwords interface

So We Can Track and Optimize…

•Conversion Rate, and Cost-Per-Conversion

•1-per-Click vs. Many-per click

•By campaign, ad group, ads, keywords

•And I can add view-through conversion metrics as well It’s a good thing I can use the Conversion Optimizer and Enhanced CPC to assist in the process © 2010 Mike Moran Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

One More Conversion Thing.. . Google by default tracks conversions within 30 days of a click. The window is based on the cookie file remaining on the prospect’s PC. Keep in mind, conversion tracking is not perfect- consider:

 Prospect deletes cookies in between click and conversion

 Prospect signs up for a 30-day trial, what if he purchases after 30 days?

 What if the prospect clicks on one PC, and converts from a tablet?

Google Adwords tracks conversions based on 1st touch. That means my initial query gets credit for a conversion, if that conversion occurs within 30 days. If I did two searches via the funnel approach as described earlier, my conversion is still based on the first click.

. The story is different with Google Analytics..

Cookies with Google Analytics

Google Analytics send a number of cookies to a user’s computer, tracking visitor sessions, unique visitors, custom variables, and of course traffic sources and Whereby Adwords tracks navigation. first click, Analytics tracks User session cookies can last up to 2 years, but traffic activity based on last click- source cookies expire in 6 months, meaning an important note to keep in conversion goals by visitor/traffic source can be measured 6 months after a visit (as long as cookies mind when analyzing data aren’t cleared)

If you’re a techie, you can actually change the default with some coding, especially if your business has a long life cycle- from Google

Multi-Channel Funnels; Google Analytics Report

This Analytics reports shows within past 30 days how all traffic sources assist and affect conversions.

This attribution report attempts to give credit to PPC, social media, email, and other sources before the last click visit that became a conversion

Dynamic Phone Number Insertion

Another way to track phone call conversions is to utilize a third party call tracking firm.

Simply, unique phone numbers replace your regular business phone number on your website or landing page, mapped to lead generation tactics (Google, Social Media, even keyword)

Benefit. If you rely on phone calls as well as lead form conversions, you’ll now be able to track both conversion methods and have a true picture of conversion metrics by media source.

A review of other major items to review… A HODGEPODGE OF OPTIMIZATIONS

Segment Your Results; Find Trends; Take Action

Match Type Click Type

Device Type

Conversion Brand New: +1 Day Of Week Type Annotations!

Were you +1’d

by Google Plus

circle friends

or basic

audiences in Ad Position- general? Top 3 vs. Time of Day Other Segments can be found on campaign, ad group, ad, and keyword levels

How’s My Daily Budget? Look at what the potential affects are if your campaigns and adgroups increase their budgets. Note what potential clicks or impressions you’re not showing for

If your conversion rates and cost-per- conversions are strong, this is an option to test..

See Search Terms

This button on the keyword tab shows actual terms that users clicked. It’s a nice tool to see what queries accompanied your match types and their performance. Add or exclude terms accordingly, and also assign bids and URLs for those keywords you add.

Opportunities

Google analyzes your campaigns and gives ideas to improve campaign performance. The categories for opportunities are Budget and Keyword. Useful tool for when I’m looking for performance ideas and new keywords.

Mobile Small text ads may also appear on mobile browsers provided the landing pages are optimized for mobile. Click to call is also an option for phone lead capture. Mobile performance can all be tracked with Adwords and Analytics

Campaign Competitive Metrics . Impression Share: Based on your settings and budget, the percentage of times your ads were shown as compared to the total impressions your ad was eligible to be shown.

. Exact Match IS (Impression Share): Percentage of time your ads were shown as exact matches compared to exact match keyword searches.

. Lost IS (budget): Impressions lost due to In marketing circles, the term insufficient budget. “share of voice” or “share of . Lost IS (rank): Impressions lost due to wallet” is used to define market low ad rank (CPC x quality score) share. Google offers metrics  Again, another measure of what happens when quality score is that also attempts to ascertain not at good levels; you have to this regarding paid search bid more to recapture share. Utilize when reviewing impressions.

budget and competitive activity.

Automated Rules . Automated Rules makes account changes automatically based on specific criteria; with the benefits of managing optimization time more effectively.

. Automation options:

 Bidding, Maximum bids, budgets

 Enable or pausing depending on criteria

 What variables produce the automated activity

 How often the automation should occur

 What history to look at before automation occurs

 Affect keywords, ads, ad groups, or campaigns

Automated Rule Examples

. Pause or enable ads or campaigns for promotional events or offers

. Pause low-performing ads or keywords based on selected performance metrics

. Adjust bids up or down based on cost per conversion, desired average position, first page position, ad scheduling

. Adjust campaign budgets based on conversion goals and daily click activity.

Alerts; Get Notified if Certain Criteria Occur

. You can receive email alerts when certain conditions you set up occur. (i.e. failed to reach daily budget)

. Alerts can apply to specific keywords, multiple keywords, or campaigns.

PPC Management Tips

. Analyze best performing campaigns and look to make them even better; add keywords, test ads, test landing pages

. Analyze low performing campaigns and follow many of the suggestions in this ebook; review ad groups/ads/keywords for relevancy/alignment, pause terms, update match types, test bidding options.

Why We Need Enterprise Management PPC Tools if Your Firm Qualifies . You have multiple business units and leadership teams

. You have a very large amount of products that you promote globally, meaning you have multiple landing page and content needs

. You do business in multiple countries in multiple languages. That means region-specific keywords, insights, and strategies

. You need the technology to upload millions of keywords, with support for the languages and currencies

. You need to do comprehensive testing; multivariate and a/b tests, comprehensive retargeting, and attribution analysis

PPC Management Platforms/Tools

Besides the basic Adwords interface, these are some of the other paid programs that help manage large scale/enterprise accounts, multiple search engines, and cross-channel integration.

For DIY Solutions, the Adwords Editor is a free Google tool that easily manages bulk changes and multiple account navigation

MEASUREMENT OVERVIEW

Google Analytics

. For Landing Pages/Microsites, purely measure conversion goals from Thank You pages

. For Websites, utilize micro and macro conversions

 Macro: The ultimate conversion that leads to an email capture

 Micro: Activity can leads up to a potential macro conversion, such as time-on-site, pages-per-visit, bounce rates, page events, pricing page views, and other relevant metrics

Google Analytics Goals

. Goals should be set up for every conversion Thank You page, from a submit inquiry, to a content download or webinar (if a form exists)

. Goals should be given a value, either a dollar figure or on a scale (1-10) so that goals are measured by priority.

Google Analytics Event Tracking

. If your site has downloadable or viewable content but not web forms, you can still track these downloads or views, via Event Tracking. Again, downloads can have values to measure importance.

Conversion Tracking with Google Analytics

With Google Analytics linked to the Adwords account, we’ll be able to measure the conversion rate and per visit goal value of the majority of the Adwords elements- campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, landing pages, even match type and ad positioning.

Remember goal values from before? The “per visit goal value” is a favorite measure of mine, and it combines all of the values divided by the visitor sessions. Example:

Keyword: accounting software Visits: 20 Free Trial Thank you Page: 10 views, worth $10 each, or $100 total value Pricing/Plans page, 5 views, worth $5 each, or $50 total.

Per Visit Goal Value for that keyword: $150/20 = $7.50 Get it?

Paul Mosenson, President, NuSpark Marketing Lead Generation Services

A Final Look at PPC Management in Action

In this example, we tweaked each ad group, 1. Early Stage: Lowered CPC, increased landing page conversion rate 2. Mid Stage: Increased click-through rate 3. Later Stage: Increased conversion rate And by keeping pipeline conversion metrics the same for this example, ROI increases in each scenario

Whatever dashboard we use to manage a campaign, by optimizing specific elements; the growth in ROI is inevitable

Ok What Else?

. Bing/Yahoo PPC?

. Facebook and LinkedIn PPC?

. Google Display Network?

. Mobile PPC?

. Analytics for Profit?

. IN A FUTURE EBOOK!

Our Approach to PPC Management • Understand business challenges, review goals and KPI benchmarks, Plan learn target markets, buyer personas, assess value proposition

• Prepare comprehensive search plan, evaluate competition, perform Research keyword identification, content audit, offer tactics

• Write ad copy, create landing pages, review conversion architecture, Launch set-up campaigns, integrate analytics

• Monitor activity, tweak elements, evaluate tactics Optimize

• Report on results, present and discuss KPI performance with Maintain management team, make recommendations, optimize ROI

The NuSpark Marketing Offer

. Existing campaign?

 Free PPC Lead Generation assessment; reviewing all of the tactics described in this ebook, and making strategic recommendations*

. New campaign?

 Free PPC Lead Generation set-up; covers initial planning, research, and pre-launch phases*

* Free offers require a negotiated minimal 3-month lead generation engagement, otherwise assessments and or set-up will be billed at $1,000.

Questions?

. Contact Paul Mosenson of NuSpark Marketing

. [email protected]

. 610-812-2725

. www.nusparkmarketing.com

Our Values

. We fully immense ourselves with your marketing goals, target audiences, and culture so that we truly understand your business

. We focus on 24/7 customer service. We treat every client the same; no pecking order. No matter how large or small, every single relationship is equal in our view

. We spend your budget like its our own; our goal is to maximize investment-seek the best deals, the best promotions, the best added-value. We strive to drive results like no other firm

. We will continually optimize and audit to make sure you’re getting the absolute best value

. We pride ourselves on win-win relationships. By creating professional one-to-one relationships with vendors, we typically get increased value and that means increased ROI for you